1 minute read
The Effects of Service
The Impact of Service
BY VIRGINIA MCCRORY '25, Staff Reporter
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Students often join Bayside’s service organizations, such as Key Club and Service Club, for the many benefits these organizations have on their resume or because they are required to join a club by the school or their parents. However, these requirements bring about a question: other than to fulfill a requirement, why should we serve? What benefits does service have on human health? The New York Times has a simple answer. “One of the best anti-anxiety medications available is generosity. ” The SMA Healthcare foundation tells us that when humans serve, the pituitary gland in our brain distributes a mass of hormones. One of the hormones released when you serve is oxytocin, a hormone that is responsible for the runner’s high that athletes feel. Oxytocin can also lower depression and reduce stress. We connect with a feeling of accomplishment when we serve, and then oxytocin is released into the blood. Research shows that volunteers feel physically healthier and have an improved mood after they have served others. Healthline.com states that people who volunteer live longer and have improved self-esteem.
Key Club smiles after volunteering at Catholic Social Services. [R. Tripp] Key Club and Service Club Members unload boxes for Catholic Social Services. [R. Tripp]
Something as simple as giving advice can benefit a person. The New York Times says, “Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago found that after middle school students mentored younger students about studying, they ended up spending more time on their own homework. ” When you feel a responsibility for something, it tends to help you with personal challenges.
Bayside’s Key Club sponsor Rochelle Tripp said,
“By doing service, people are able to better put themselves in people’s shoes and really understand more [of] what they ’re going through. ” Being empathic allows us to understand the impact service truly has, and empathy is particularly important in our world today because we see so little of it. In the end, it’s important we know what it means to serve and the impact that it has on the lives of those in need. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. ”
